Kuwait: Kuwait Financial Centre “Markaz” organized an introductory seminar yesterday at Boursa Kuwait on Securities Lending and Borrowing (SLB) services. The seminar featured presentations by Mr. Ahmed Khaled Al-Shalfan, Vice President – MENA Equities at Markaz, Mr. Abdelkarim Al-Yaquot, Head of Product Development at the Kuwait Clearing Company (KCC), and Mr. Osama Al Masri, Assistant Manager at the Middle East Financial Brokerage Company (MEFBC).

The seminar offered attendees, including traders, investors, and other stakeholders, valuable insights on a variety of topics including the central lending and borrowing service; the advantages and risks associated with short-selling activities; registration, qualification, and guarantee procedures. It also offered key takeaways and prominent decisions from general assembly meetings; information on commissions and fees; as well as procedures related to securities lending.

Mr. Ahmed Khaled Al-Shalfan from Markaz, said: “Markaz was eager to organize this seminar to raise awareness about the Securities Lending and Borrowing service and how it could prove beneficial to key stakeholders in Kuwait. We value our cooperation with the Kuwait Clearing Company and the Middle East Financial Brokerage Company in holding this seminar and launching the SLB service. Both institutions played an active role in ensuring its success. Without a doubt, Markaz takes pride in being the first to have launched the Securities Lending and Borrowing service for the first time in Kuwait through the Forsa Financial Fund, which enabled the first short-selling transaction in Kuwait. Its launch comes as part of the company’s wider efforts to develop trading activities and boost liquidity in Kuwait’s stock market. It also reinforces our ongoing commitment to provide traders and investors with a wide range of innovative tools and techniques to support them with short-selling activities and enable them to gain returns.”

Commenting on the seminar, Mr. Abdulkarim Alyaqout from KCC stated: "The Kuwait Clearing Company has been providing lending and borrowing services to market makers since 2017. This initiative has been successful and has directly contributed to the design of the central lending and borrowing mechanism, encompassing all market participants and supporting the margin trading system. The service was activated in the market with our colleagues at Middle East Financial Brokerage Company and Markaz earlier this year. Kuwait Clearing Company is consistently striving to enhance the market infrastructure in line with the highest standards and modern technologies. The company aims to provide everything that facilitates the offering of investment instruments, with the goal of increasing liquidity and ensuring market stability."

Also commenting on the seminar, Mr. Osama Al Masri, from MEFBC said: "It gives us great pleasure at the Middle East Financial Brokerage Company to be the first brokerage of choice for the first market maker in Kuwait, and similarly to collaborate with Markaz, one of Kuwait’s leading investment companies and the first lender in the centralized securities lending and borrowing system in the Kuwaiti market, and the Kuwait Clearing Company (KCC). Our participation at the ‘Securities Lending and Borrowing’ service seminar, which we had supported in launching earlier this year, reflects our commitment to support in enhancing the overall market’s efficiency and liquidity, in addition to providing investment tools to meet the various clients’ needs and requests through our readiness to serve them from our headquarters located at the Boursa Kuwait premises.”

The Securities Lending and Borrowing service will enable investors to borrow and trade in the Kuwaiti market. Securities lending also supports the effective development and execution of investment strategies when managing clients’ portfolios, helping them optimize returns while also balancing risks. Moreover, this new service plays an important role in facilitating short-selling activities, reducing market volatility, and achieving higher levels of liquidity and efficiency in the market.

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About Kuwait Financial Centre “Markaz”

Established in 1974, Kuwait Financial Centre K.P.S.C “Markaz” is one of the leading asset management and investment banking institutions in the MENA region with total assets under management of over KD 1.17 billion as of 30 June 2023 (USD 3.82 billion). Markaz was listed on the Boursa Kuwait in 1997. Over the years, Markaz has pioneered innovation by developing new concepts resulting in new investment channels that enjoy unique characteristics enabling Markaz to widen investors’ horizons. Examples include Mumtaz (the first domestic mutual fund), MREF (the first real estate investment fund in Kuwait), and Forsa Financial Fund (the first and only options market maker in the GCC since 2005), all conceptualized, established, and managed by Markaz.

For further information, please contact:
Sondos S. Saad
Media & Communications Department
Kuwait Financial Centre K.P.S.C. “Markaz”
Email: ssaad@markaz.com